1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to staples. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fastener for securing wire cable, conduits, pipes, tubes, etc., to wooden or metal members.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known to electricians that securing power cables to wood structural framing members in the traditional way is tedious, awkward, labor intensive, and often hazardous, involving simultaneously holding cables, staples, and a hammer, while on a ladder or scaffold.
The presently used means of securing Type NM or Romex cable to wood framing, as required by electrical code, is to employ staples that are driven manually, using a common carpenter's hammer. Another means presently employed is a plastic strap (also known as a plastic staple) that is secured by one or two nails driven manually or by a hammer. Another means are wire staples applied by a spring-driven staple gun of traditional construction.
Electrical codes sometimes specify that staples must be insulated. Otherwise, the determination of whether such staples may be used remains with local building code enforcement officials.
When running several cables along a common route on a structure, the present practice is to lay such cables side by side. This is impossible in some cases because, when secured, no such cable may be installed closer to each edge of a structural member than 1¼ inches. In certain cases the structural member is not sufficiently wide enough to accommodate more than one cable. This limitation may require additional labor to route extra cables along a different path.
It would be desirable to provide a fastener system for securing wire cable, conduits, tubes, pipes, etc., to wood or metal frames, the fastener being stackable so that multiple cables may be secured in an organized “co-linear” fashion. Particularly desirable would be a fastener system that allows cables to be secured one atop the other. It would be further desirable to provide a fastener system comprised of individual, identical components which may be snapped together during installation. It would also be desirable to provide a fastener system which will secure cables within a range of sizes. It would also be desirable to have a magazine for feeding the fasteners in the fastener system to an appropriate installation tool. It would also be desirable to have a fastener that could be disengaged from one another. It would also be desirable to have a fastener that holds a single cable in an insulated body separate from other cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,072, issued Apr. 14, 1992, to Kuo, deceased et al., describes an insert-type of dis-engageable underground conduit holder wherein male and female mating sections snap together to hold conduits in a stacked fashion. The holder is made from plastic with semicircular conduit resting portions. The conduit holder is configured to withstand forces placed onto the conduits without separating, while allowing easy disassembly without damage to the remainder of the assembly. The '072 conduit holder is not amenable to installation from a magazine-loaded installation tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,509, issued Mar. 18, 1997, to Market, describes a stackable wire staple and raceway system in a strap configuration for securing conductive cabling to a variety of surfaces. The base portion has apertures for receiving nails to secure the first cable fastener to a surface while the attachable fasteners have several ribbed protrusions for insertion into bores made into each fastener so that the fasteners can be stacked on atop the other. The '509 fastener system does not provide a configuration for installation from a magazine-loaded installation tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,802, issued Nov. 30, 1999, l to Campbell, describes a cable support for parallel runs of coaxial cable made up of pairs of molded plastic blocks stacked on a single threaded rod. The identical blocks have semicircular, cylindrical recesses which cooperate to provide circular, cable-gripping passages in a stacked relationship with all the blocks being fastened together by a single threaded rod or bolt that passes directly through their respective centers. The '802 fastener support system is not amenable to installation from a magazine-loaded installation tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,484, issued Apr. 13, 1993, to Thoen describes a stacking cable clamp for stacking electrical cable in a stacked relationship, comprising a base clamp that is secured to wood via nails. Additional clamps are secured atop the base clamp via ears that engage slots on the additional clamps. The '484 clamp system does not provide a configuration for installation from a magazine-loaded installation tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,064, issued Jan. 331, 1989, to Mangone, Jr., et al, describes interlocking adjacent clips for mounting cable to wood which are provided in a group for filling a magazine for an applicator machine, to be individually dispense thereby for nailing by a staple-like installation tool. The '064 clip system is not stackable, thus, not providing mounting for more than a single cable along the same wooden frame.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.